 It is therefore time for Question Period, the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier, and I would like to read a quote. In the past, political whim and government ideology has driven minimum wage. We have to bring in legislation to tie it to inflation. I hope we have the support of other parties in the legislature. It is the fairest position we could have taken. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier tell us who said that? I think I might have said that. And Mr. Speaker, I said it at a time when the economy was really in trouble, Mr. Speaker. When we were recovering from the economic downturn and we made a decision, we made a decision about tagging the minimum wage to the inflation rate, Mr. Speaker. And that's exactly what we will do after we raise the minimum wage, Mr. Speaker. $14, this January, $15. We'll move to warnings if we need to. That will be the next move. Finish, please. $15, January 1, 2019, Mr. Speaker. The plan that the opposition has put forward to roll back that minimum wage increase, Mr. Speaker, is unfair, Mr. Speaker. It does not recognize the reality that people... We're in warnings. Thank you. And they'll come quick. Carry on. It does not recognize the reality that people in the province. Although the province is doing very well economically, there are people who are struggling to get ahead. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, and I acknowledge the Premier's consistent fighting a $15 minimum wage for years when the NDP had proposed this. Now, what's happened? Six months from an election. Government House Leader is warned. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, for years, the Premier steadfastly fought a $15 minimum wage. And what happened? Six months before an election, she changes her tune. Let me share a more recent quote from the Premier on a $15 minimum wage. A fair adjustment to the minimum wage gives business predictability. It takes the decision out of the political whim. The Premier was fighting for business predictability against a $15 minimum wage. Can the Premier tell us why all of a sudden she has changed her mind? The leader of the opposition who is the leader of a party that froze the minimum wage for nine years, Mr. Speaker, I am part of a government that has increased the minimum of a decision to bump the minimum wage and to tag it to inflation, Mr. Speaker. We determined at that time that because the economy was not in good shape, Mr. Speaker, that we wouldn't do that catch-up. That that was something that was said to us, you know that we should do a catch-up and we at that time believed that that would not be responsible. But Mr. Speaker, I have always believed that a minimum wage, that was a living wage was important. That's why we are putting in place a $15 minimum wage that that party would roll back. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier, I'd appreciate that we don't say false statements in the House like a rollback that the Premier knows is happy. But the just to my question about is this. You've got TD banks saying 90,000 jobs will be lost. You've got the Chamber saying it's well more than that. We're going to see low-income vulnerable workers lose their job because the Premier refuses to have a reasonable phasen. Well, you know, the Premier actually said something else recently. This is the Premier of Ontario. We really want to move away from an ad hoc system. We have to move very carefully because this is about making sure we retain and create jobs. This isn't speaking against the NDP proposal for a living wage. So you have the Premier saying it will kill jobs and then all of a sudden she changes her mind. So if a year ago you think it killed jobs, Mr. Speaker, why does the Premier think now that all of a sudden her previous statements don't exist? Without the comments. Premier. Mr. Speaker, the economy in Ontario is doing very well. We made a decision to tag the increases to the minimum wage to inflation, Mr. Speaker. We were in a time when we were digging out of a recessionary hole, Mr. Speaker. We've done that. At this moment, Mr. Speaker, with the province doing as well as it is, it is only fair that everyone in this province, if they're working 40 hours a week, Mr. Speaker, they shouldn't have to go to the food bank. They should be able to look after themselves and their children. And Mr. Speaker, you're either on the side of fairness or you're not. Thank you. New question. Later the opposition. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. Since I can't get an answer on her flip-flop on minimum wage, let's try another topic. SIEU's ties to the secret new home care agency bring up some really interesting questions. Of course, the cozy ties between SIEU and Liberal insiders are very well known. But we've learned that a Liberal friend and insider, Barry Monahan, has been tasked with leading this secret new agency. Barry Monahan has been tied to other questionable Liberal dealings in the past. So my question, Mr. Speaker, directly to the Premier, is how can the people of Ontario trust this agency to get it right when they're stacking the agency with Liberal insiders and friends? Thank you. Mr. Health, long-term care. Well, Mr. Speaker, several years ago we asked Gail Donner to create an expert task force to look at home and community care and what more we could do to support individuals who require those services. All right, let's go. A member from Dufferin Callaghan is warned. Carry on. And one of her 10 recommendations, that of the task force, was to create programs for self-directed care. Understanding that there were individuals and caregivers that were receiving home care that wanted more control. They wanted choice, Mr. Speaker. They wanted to be able to select their specific PSW, for example. They wanted to be able to determine the schedule, the hours themselves. And so we followed her advice. And through the lens, we're going to be doing two different programs. One, we're going to give funds directly to a home care client so they can purchase those services themselves. But there are others that have chronic conditions requiring more than 14 hours a week of home care that don't want to be involved in negotiating contracts. They don't want to have to remit funds to Revenue Canada on behalf of the employees. Okay, we'll go there. The member from Leeds Grenville is warned. Carry on. So, and I'm happy to talk in the supplementary. We looked to other jurisdictions to see how they were addressing that problem. I'm happy to speak to that in a moment. Supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I can appreciate why the Premier doesn't want to be on the record on this. The Liberals never miss an opportunity to take care of one of their own insiders. Barry Monahan was the former CEO of the Toronto Central Lynn. Despite resigning, he was paid three... Stop the clock. Chief Government Whip is warned. Not my job. Carry on. Mr. Speaker, despite resigning, he was paid $351,000 the very next year. While collecting this salary, Monahan accepted a six-figure untended consulting contract from the Mrs. Saga Holton Lynn. That's $455,000 away from front-line services. So, I get that the Premier doesn't want to answer this question because how can she look at the people of Ontario in the face and say that she thinks a $455,000 salary for a liberal insider at the expense of front-line care is appropriate. But I'm going to ask the Premier again. Is this appropriate? Is that salary appropriate when you're cutting nursing and you're cutting healthcare to the province of Ontario? Minister? So, Mr. Speaker, the reality is that individuals who are receiving that complex at chronic care from home care providers, they often have little knowledge or the ability to take the time and deal with things like employer taxes, employee benefits, and how to conduct background screening of PSWs. And so we looked around the world. In fact, we looked at successful models that have been implemented in Washington, California, Australia, Germany, France, Scotland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon. Many, many states in the United States that have successfully, with great outcomes and great patient client satisfaction, have provided this service as an intermediary. So those back office functions, if you will, negotiating contracts, doing the background checks on PSWs, for example, those will be done by an organization to provide that extra choice to home care clients. I would hope that the member opposite, the leader of the official opposition, would agree that choice is important. So Mr. Speaker, previously, the question is to the Premier again, previously the Liberals got caught paying a Liberal insider $455,000. Now, now they're going back to the same insider trying to thank them again. They create complex schemes as a manner in which to thank their own. Now, the reason I'm concerned about this, Mr. Speaker, beyond that it's wrong to simply always look at ways to thank Liberal insiders and supporters, the Auditor General has said that we now spend 39% of our home care budget on administration. They're creating bureaucracy, they're creating administration just to take care of their own and they're cutting frontline services. It's not acceptable, Mr. Speaker. So we've outlined the ties between the Liberal Party and SEIU. Now we got insiders who are visibly and publicly being thanked by the government of this new secret agency. So my question to the Premier is how can you tolerate this? How can you allow this? How can you allow frontline services to be diminished while you take care of your own? It's not right. Thank you. I'll show you who it was. It's not helpful either. Minister? Well, you know, Mr. Speaker, the only person that it's secret to is the leader of the opposition because he's so busy trying to actually concoct a plan for his party, which is completely absent. If he had been paying attention, he would have known that we announced this in early October to much fanfare in front of the media, in front of home care clients and the providers themselves. It's on our website. We've been discussing it and consulting with our partners. But this is about choice, Mr. Speaker. It directly follows an explicit recommendation of our Task Force on Home and Community Care. In fact, that same announcement, I announced $100 million of new investments into home care this year, but more than a million hours of PSW, hours added to home care, Mr. Speaker. I know we missed that. I don't know what he was doing, but this is a great plan, a great program that has been rolled out across a dozen and more U.S. states as well as across Europe and in Australia. That's the model that we're following. Thank you. You have a question? The leader of the third party? Thank you very much, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. A few days ago, an Ontario doctor named Sohail Gandhi wrote an article expressing his concern about the readiness of our hospitals for a surge in patients due to this year's flu. Specifically, he said, and I quote, Ontario can't handle a surge in flu cases. Speaker, with many Ontario hospitals regularly operating over 100% capacity even before flu season takes its toll, will the Premier heed the warnings of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners who are here with us in the gallery today and all healthcare professionals and finally give hospitals and frontline healthcare workers the resources they need to take care of the people of this province. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And first of all, I want to acknowledge the nurse practitioners who are here with us today who do a fantastic job. And Mr. Speaker, I'm so proud of the support that our government has been able to give to nurse practitioners. We know that there is more that we can do to work with them as they lead nurse practitioners like clinics, Mr. Speaker, as they practice to their full scope in our communities. To the issue of the surge capacity, I know the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care will want to speak to this, but Mr. Speaker, we recognize that there is a need to expand the opportunities for hospitals, for the healthcare system to provide for that surge, which is why there are more beds that are being available. We are responding to that challenge, Mr. Speaker. We are working to solve the problem, and that's exactly why there will be an expansion of beds in the province. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Gandhi noted that this summer there was a shortage of beds in neonatal intensive care units that affected the entire province. The Premier's Ministry of Health told reporters that this was a one-time event. But Dr. Gandhi says, quote, this is just ridiculous. Health systems need to plan for the unexpected. Mr. Speaker, that's why it's so important that bed occupancy rates in hospitals stay at or below 85%. Ontario's hospitals are regularly exceeding 100% capacity. It's one thing when there's a bed shortage speaker in the summer, when there's almost no flu cases to deal with, what will happen when already overcrowded hospitals are forced to take in even more patients this winter as the flu season is upon us? Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Well, once again, Mr. Speaker, the NDP are asking us to provide a solution. We provide a solution and they don't like our solution and they seem to oppose everything that we do, every single investment in our health care system. Not the least of was our investment of $7 billion, additional funds over the next three years in our health care budget that they voted against. But just a few weeks ago, we announced 2,000 additional beds in spaces across this province, including 1,200 new acute care beds that would address capacity issues. By the way, the vast majority of our hospitals, unlike what the leader of the third party said, the vast majority are well within capacity, Mr. Speaker. So we made that investment of 1,200 new acute care beds as well as more than 500 transitional spaces like the Humber site, the former Humber River hospital site that they don't like. Thank you. Well, Speaker, health care professionals warned that this year might be a particularly bad year for the flu in Ontario. Ontarians are rightly concerned about where people are going to go when hospitals are already bursting at the seams. Dr. Gandhi says, and I'm going to quote him again, we know the hospital system has no surge capacity. If you're already at 110%, where's the room to surge? Well, Premier, where is the room to surge? In a place like Brampton Civic Hospital, where last year 4,352 patients were on stretchers in hallways getting care. Thank you, Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, the... So I wonder what her members think when we are... Whether they approve or disapprove of the fact that we're adding 20 new acute inpatient beds to Windsor Regional Hospital. What the members from the Windsor area think about that, Mr. Speaker? Or London Health Sciences Centre, where we're adding 24 new acute care inpatient beds, as well as an additional 24 acute care mental health beds to London Health Sciences Centre. I wonder what her MPPs from the London area think about that. Or Hamilton Health Sciences, the leader of the third party yourself. What's her response to the 30 additional inpatient beds at Hamilton Health Sciences? The three neonatal intensive care unit beds we're adding to Hamilton Health Sciences. The 26 in the Niagara Health System. The 24 at St. Joseph's Community Health Centre in Hamilton, Mr. Speaker. The 22 at Lake Ridge in Oshawa. I am curious to know what her members think. Thank you. New question, the leader of the third party. Thank you, Speaker. My next question is also for the Premier. There were no new commitments in this week's economic update to give families hope that when they go to the hospital they're actually going to get a room and not a hallway, not a broom closet, not a shower room. The temporary bed beds that the Premier has announced that the minister was just talking about don't even come close to meeting the glaring need for stable, predictable, adequate hospital funding. We have doctors speaking out, nurse practitioners speaking out, patients speaking out, because this situation is only going to get worse when the flu hits. Why is the Premier ignoring the advice of healthcare professionals and playing a very dangerous game with the health and safety of the people of Ontario? Thank you, Premier. And, Mr. Health, long-term care. Mr. Health, long-term care. Well, Mr. Speaker, we are responding and we are investing and we are concerned about the potential of the record bad flu season that happened in Australia that we could, that could visit us this winter as well. That's why we're encouraging everyone to get a flu vaccine. But I find it curious that every single investment that we've made this year and last year and before that, the NDP is as opposed. They're $500 million investment in our hospital operating budgets. They voted against it, Mr. Speaker. We work closely with the Ontario Hospital Association precisely to create these 1,200 new acute care beds that we're investing in, Mr. Speaker. And they seem to oppose that as well. We're making 500-plus new beds available for transitional spaces like the 150 at the former Humber River site on Finch Street here in the GTA, Mr. Speaker. They're opposed to that. Every single investment that we're making on behalf of our hospitals are hard-working frontline healthcare workers, including our nurse practitioners. They seem to oppose, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary. Well, Mr. Speaker, winter is coming and the flu season is coming with it. We know from medical experts that it's going to be a particularly bad year. We know from medical experts and people using our hospitals that right now before the flu season has taken its toll, people are already facing unacceptable conditions and delays in receiving hospital care. We know that hospital administrators and frontline staff are doing what they can to keep up. And we know that the Premier has failed that will even make a dent in the overcrowding crisis that she and her Liberal government have helped create. When will the Premier take this bad flu season seriously? Stop defending the actions of her Health Minister and put her focus back where it should be, which is on the health and well-being of Ontario families. Thank you, Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, the leader of the third party is correct that winter is coming. Winter is coming. If that party ever returns to power in this province, it will be a dark day. And for the benefit of our nurse practitioners and others that are watching today, it was that party the five years that they were empowered. I know they don't want to hear this, but they closed 9,600 acute care hospital beds. They closed 24% of all the acute hospital beds in this province, only beaten by the PCUs who closed 10,000, Mr. Speaker, but they were a close second. They closed 13% of the mental health beds in this province. In their last budget, they decreased hospital funding by 1%, and they reduced the overall health care budget by 0.6% for the second year of row. They took 230 drugs off of the formulary, Mr. Speaker, and they delisted home care. That's their record. Thank you. Final supplementary. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to leave the Premier with one final thought from Dr. Gandhi. He said, and I quote, you know, I find a very disturbing that the Liberals are joking about the health of the people of this province and the mess they've made in our hospital system. Here's what Dr. Gandhi said. Physicians already know that due to the woeful mismanagement of the Ontario health care system by Premier Kathleen Wynn and her hapless Health Minister Eric Hoskins, and the minister of health their resources to cope with the surge in patients. Clearly, the Premier and her minister of health have not inspired much confidence so far with their ability to handle a potential flu surge. There's an important role for the province to play here, Speaker. We need to ensure that Ontario families have the health care that they need even during a surge caused by a particularly bad flu. Does the Premier plan to rethink her approach to hospital funding and not in hallways. Thank you. Minister? Well, Mr. Speaker, and Dr. Suhail Gandhi, I particularly enjoy his Huffington Post articles. I know that he likes to target me specifically, Mr. Speaker, but I appreciate that he's active and is putting his opinion forward. Mr. Speaker, in 2014 in the election, the leader of the third party refused to identify where the member from the candidate, the member from Kitchener Waterloo, the NDP candidate at the time, declared that they would find $600 million in annual savings from health and education. And so had they won that election in 2014, Mr. Speaker, we would have seen... Might be somebody sitting in a different seat that I can't see, but I'm not sure. I think he knows why I did it. Carry on. So the member from Kitchener Waterloo went on to say that I would go first to health to find those $600 million in cuts. I think that's on record as the worst campaign platform suggestion next to the PC commitment to cut 100,000 jobs, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Do you have questions? The member from Nipissing. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. A senior, a widow on a fixed income in rural Northern Ontario has raised serious concerns with the Premier over the last 18 months. She was sent a notice that her property assessment will jump from $78,000 all the way to $186,000. It means that she's now facing a tax bill as high as $11,200. It would take 11 months of her widow's pension just to cover her tax bill. And to make matters worse, this is a home without sewer and water, sidewalks, natural gas, cable, or even neighborhood parks. How is that fair, Speaker? How does the Premier expect a senior on a fixed income to afford to live in the high-cost Ontario that she has created? Thank you. Minister of Finance. Mr. Finance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the question. We recognize the concerns that he raises. That's why MPAC has been established to look at the comparators around the province, including in his community, Mr. Speaker, and members of the municipality also sit on that board and also provide for assessments. I would encourage anyone who feels that it's been too high to do the appeal as is available to them and to provide the adjustments. I also recognize the member may want to express this to his constituent, a senior, that there are other options available to them. And if he doesn't, I'm happy to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, supplementary. Speaker, back to the Premier. It's been 18 months, so platitudes don't do anything for seniors facing these outrageous increases. She has been asking for help for 18 months and has received nothing. In March of 2016, the local Liberals refused face-to-face meetings. In October 2016, the Premier offered her personal assistance, but took no action. She doesn't need a fact-finding mission from the Premier's office. This Northern constituent needs action today. This widow is not alone. There are 40 other families in this Northern community struggling with the same issue. How is that fair? Will the Premier take action today, or does she need longer than 18 months to address this? Question. Thank you, Minister. So let me get this straight. This is the member that represents the senior. This is the member's constituent, because if it isn't, and if it is, he should have allowed that senior to the options to talk to the misspals about the flexibility in adjusting those rates, to provide assessments that we can phase in over a four-year period, and there are other measures that are available. But Mr. Speaker, I hope he's also advised the senior, some of the measures that are being done right now to help seniors in a suite of options, Mr. Speaker. Just recently, we released the Aging with Confidence in this fall bill that enables us to provide even greater support for senior on an ongoing basis, including more care at home, all of which is entitlement, that will help seniors, and I hope the member opposite will support those initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question to member from Kitchener, Waterloo. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Last week, I met with long-term care health workers in my riding. They're tired. They are understaffed. They are always working short. They shared the stories of families, of parents and grandparents who are on the waitlist for long-term care. But instead of being in long-term care facilities and homes like they deserve, they are left with no choice but to go to overcrowded hospitals for 24 consecutive months. In Waterloo Region, Grand River Hospital has been operating over capacity in many of their divisions for 24 consecutive months. We are seeing the results of years of liberal and conservative cuts, and there are too many people on long-term care waitlists and not enough beds in our hospitals. And whether it's long-term care or a hospital, the people of Waterloo and all Ontarians deserve safe and consistent care. What is the government's plan to make sure that all Ontarians get the care that they need? Thank you. Minister of Health, Long-Term Care. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so I have the capacity levels of every single hospital across the province in front of me. And I'm looking at Grand River Hospital, which was the hospital mentioned in the member opposite's writing, and I appreciate her raising this question. So from April to September, every single month from April to September, that hospital was below capacity, Mr. Speaker, every single month. Every month? But nonetheless, and despite that, as part of our announcement several weeks ago for the 1,200 new acute care beds, we made an additional allocation of seven additional beds inpatient, acute inpatient beds to Grand River Hospital and are providing just under half a million dollars to support those beds. So we're making those investments that are critically important across the province, those investments to help those hospitals that are facing challenges to be able to provide and continue to provide the best possible patient care. Thank you. Stop the retreat. Again, to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. In Waterloo Region, there are 2,625 people on a wait list for long-term care. The Lynn shared these numbers with us. But when I asked the Minister for Data on Occupancy Rates for Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital two weeks ago in committee, I was told that the Minister had to consult with ministry staff. I also sent a letter to the Minister, but I've yet received no answer. The people of Kitchener, Waterloo and Ontario, everyone deserves to know the state of their hospitals because in order to fix a problem, you have to acknowledge that the problem exists. We have the data from our freedom of information. Unless you are challenging that data, you need to be held accountable for the state of overcrowding in our hospitals and the pain that you are causing the people of this province. Mr. Speaker, please. Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you. Minister. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the Minister of Cuts. The same individual in 2014... Just titles, just titles and writings, please. The spiders to be. The same individual, Mr. Speaker, that during the 2014 campaign committed to finding $600 million annually in savings. In fact, the NDP platform, this is from the CBC, they were silent initially on exactly where that $600 million that the member opposite committed to finding. But one broad hint emerged on the campaign trail when Kitchener-Waterloo NDP candidate, Katherine Pfeiffer, said the NDP's new accountability minister would look to find efficiencies in the healthcare and post-secondary education sector. And in fact, she went on to say, quote, I would go first to help. Had they won in 2014, we would have seen $600 million in healthcare cuts in 2014, $600 million in cuts in 2015, $600 million in cuts in 2016, and so on, Mr. Speaker. Shane! You have a question in the member for Butes of Z Short. Well, thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. And let me just say what an effective job he is doing answering so many questions in the House today and putting the rest of these rumours and the other side. So, Speaker, we all know that providing Ontario is with timely access to the care they need, whether it's at home, in their community, or in one of our outstanding hospitals, is of the utmost importance to our government and certainly to me as a member for Butes of Z Short. It's over the past 14 years, our health system has improved tremendously. We've increased our investments in healthcare each year and every year in allowing us to treat more patients and to provide the highest quality of care. We are so fortunate in Ontario to have the exceptional healthcare providers that we do, including over 3,100 nurse practitioners. In many community health hubs, such as the East End Community Health Centre and my writing, a beach of the East York where nurse practitioners are providing important functions. So, Speaker, can the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care share with us the positive impact that nurse practitioners are having on the healthcare system in Ontario? Mr. Health, Long-Term Care. Well, thank, I want to thank the member from beaches each East York for this important question. And first of all, I want to welcome and thank our nurse practitioners across this province who are doing an absolutely exceptional job in providing the highest quality healthcare. You know, Mr. Speaker, we have, so we introduced the first nurse practitioner-led clinic. There are now 25 of them in the province. They're seeing 55,000 patients. And we've measured, together with our nurse practitioners, outcomes and patient satisfaction. And we're finding patient satisfaction and outcomes of our nurse practitioners in those nurse practitioner-led clinics through the roof. Patients love them. The outcomes are absolutely fantastic. And we're so committed to our nurse practitioners wherever they may practice. And that may be in our hospitals, Mr. Speaker. It may be in our nurse practitioner-led clinics. It may be in many of the work in positions of leadership, Mr. Speaker. The member from Timmins James Bay is warned. And if he gives me a rebuttal, he'll regret it. Carry on. So we know how crucial they are to this province to providing that highest quality health care. We're committed to continuing to work with them. And I'm happy in the supplementary, I'll speak more in terms of some of the actions we're taking to further support them. Well, thank you, Speaker. And you know, today we are celebrating the very first nurse practitioners week in Ontario. And I, too, would like to welcome all the nurse practitioners who are here today. We know that everyday nurse practitioners care for people with mental health and addiction issues, acute, chronic pain issues, and people who require positive care and end-of-life care. They are a crucial aspect of community care and also across hospitals and long-term care facilities. And a decade ago, as the minister mentioned, the first nurse practitioner-led clinic was open in Sudbury and endorsed it in Ontario, where my mother has a cottage and nurse practitioner station open nearly two years ago. And I tell you, it serves that community extremely well. And just last month, the premier was up in York Region to announce a new facility in Georgina, also being led by nurse practitioners. We now have over 25 nurse practitioner-led clinics across the province. And Ontario has been the first jurisdiction to adopt this fantastic model. Can the minister of long-term care and health please inform the House of the Investments we've made for nurse practitioner-led clinics? Minister. Well, Mr. Speaker, we know how crucial nurse practitioners are to this province. We're working with them. And an example of that is we've expanded their scope of practice to enable them to prescribe controlled drugs and substances. This is critically important for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is in the small towns and remote areas. They're often the only health care and the best health care that's available. And to give them that opportunity to address some of the needs of their patients is so important. But we're also expanding nurse practitioner-led clinics. The premier recently, last month, I believe, was at the Georgina Nurse Practitioner-led Clinic, announcing funding there for a permanent clinic to replace the existing building with a brand-new facility that will serve more than 3,000 patients. I believe it was last week the member from Thunder Bay, Atacocan, as well, was announcing the expansion of the Lakehead nurse practitioner-led clinic in that jurisdiction, Mr. Speaker. So we're finding every way that we can to recognize just how critical they are to the delivery of health care in this province. Thank you. New question? The member from Hullaboot, North Lakes Park. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Attorney General. This afternoon, the legislature will be debating my private member's bill, the Mandatory Sexual Law Training for Judicial Officers Act. As the minister knows, I've been pushing this issue for quite some time. And the minister has told me before in this house that he is satisfied with the status quo. Unfortunately, the status quo does not go far enough. A few months ago, I was copied on a letter of support for my bill from the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, which was addressed to the Attorney General. The letter said that since the training the minister announced, quote, won't be mandatory for current provincial judges, victims of sexual assault appearing before the provincial courts still run the risk of experiencing negative and damaging comments and rulings from the presiding justice. Question? Will the government listen to the call from the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and support Bill 120 this afternoon? Thank you. You see me, please? Thank you. Attorney General. Thank you, Speaker. Let me be absolutely be clear. The sexual assault is a very serious issue that demands attention from all levels of government and all our institutions. Supporting survivors is really important, Speaker, to me because I know as they move through the justice system that these processes have the potential to re-traumatize the victims and we want to do everything we can to ensure that that does not happen. That's why, Speaker, we have dedicated legal support. That's why we have specially trained crowns and free legal advice for survivors of sexual assault. And that is why, Speaker, I'm also pleased, as I have said before, the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice has informed me that the court has expressly mandated the sexual assault education be mandatory for new judges. Speaker, the education plan has been updated and is available on the Ontario Court of Justice website. And I'm confident that the action that has been taken by the Chief Justice will serve to increase public's confidence in our justice system. Thank you. Supplementary. Well, Mr. Speaker, the only reason the government even did anything on this issue in the first place is because we brought it up. It's not like it's a new issue. So now it looks like the government treated this as a public relations problem that they just wanted to get rid of by hiding behind the argument of judicial independence. The bill doesn't tell them what form this training should take or how they should deliver it. That's up to the judges. The fact is that mandatory training will build trust in our justice system that is lacking as a result of so many incidents reported in the media. Since the minister doesn't look like he's going to be supporting this bill, what is he going to tell survivors who've been begging for this change? Good job. Good job. The minister of the status of women. Minister of the status of women. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite for this question. Speaker, sexual violence is a brutal and traumatic crime. And the reality is that it's far too widespread in our society and has a devastating and lasting impact on survivors and their families. Now, Speaker, I want to commend the Chief Justice's efforts in implementing mandatory sexual assault training for new judges. This is an important step. But, Speaker, I want you to know that our government has been working on this issue for some time. As a government, we have done a lot, a lot through our sexual violence and harassment action plan to change societal behaviors because, Speaker, that is where the work has to start. Training is always an important step and that's why we've invested $1.7 million into training for frontline professionals. And, Speaker, we are taking action across government through It's Never Okay, an action plan to stop sexual violence and harassment, which we brought into effect in 2015. So we have been working on this issue for many years. Is there a question? Here's the third party. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, my question is for the Premier. We've just learned that college faculty have said no to a contract offer that they were forced to vote on this week. This strike is now in its fifth week and students and faculty alike have been begging the Premier to bring stability to the college system by acting to ensure a negotiated settlement between college faculty and the College Employer Council. The Liberal government laid the foundations for this strike by severely underfunding colleges, providing the lowest per student college funding of any province in Canada. And now they have spent five weeks sitting on the sidelines, hoping that everything will work out. Why is the Premier refusing to act to ensure a negotiated settlement that is fair for faculty and is focused on delivering the high-quality education that students paid for and that students deserve? Thank you, Premier. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I would expect that the leader of the third party who would actually understand the collective bargaining process and would know full well that we have taken an appropriate role, Mr. Speaker. We have not been sitting on our hands. There are mediators from the government who have been involved, Mr. Speaker. But I want to read to the legislature and the people of Ontario the statement that I have sent out in the wake of this vote, Mr. Speaker. Students have been in the middle of this strike for too long and it's not fair. This afternoon, I will be meeting along with the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development with the bargaining unit chairs of the College Employer Council and OPSU-CAATA to discuss how we can resolve this situation immediately and get students back to class where they belong. We are looking at all of our options, but I am hopeful that an agreement to return students to class immediately can be reached by the party. So, Mr. Speaker, the Minister and I will be meeting with the parties this afternoon. Thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, today's vote puts us right back where we were on October 16th, except that students have lost five full weeks of time in classroom and have no idea when they will be getting back to school. No amount, rather, of hardship funding is going to help students, some of whom are experiencing extreme mental health distress who see a government that doesn't seem to care about them or their future. Promises about semesters never being lost. Do not... The Minister of Economic Development and Growth is warned. Please continue. Promises about semesters never being lost. Do nothing to reassure students who are more concerned about the content that they will miss, as opposed to the course credit. Surely the Premier actually has a plan, as opposed to just a little discussion. Surely she has a plan about how she is going to ensure that a fair deal is reached and support students through this process. So I'm going to ask the Premier straight up. What is the plan to make sure a fair settlement is reached and students are back in the classroom? Thank you. Can you say it please? Thank you. Premier? Well, Mr. Speaker, I will say again to the Leader of the Third Party, she knows or should know full well that the next step at this point is for us to bring together the parties and to give them the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to come to an agreement. You know, I support the collective bargaining process. I would have thought that the Leader of the Third Party would also support the collective bargaining process, Mr. Speaker. So I'm very hopeful that the parties will understand that this has been a very long ordeal for students and for faculty, that they all want to be back in the classroom and that we need those students back in classroom immediately, Mr. Speaker. The minister and I will meet with the parties this afternoon and we will put it to them that we hope that they will be able to come to an agreement very quickly so that the students and the faculty will be back in the classroom immediately, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. New question, the members from Ottawa are in you. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. You know, with Indigenous communities, it's crucial for the future of the province and that it must involve participation by the Indigenous communities in the resource economy because that's where there's meaningful employment and that's where there's good business opportunities for the Indigenous communities. And I know that our government is committed to working with Indigenous partners to ensure that they can participate in the resource sector such as mining, green energy, and forestry. So, Minister, can you explain how Ontario Government is working to ensure the participation of Indigenous community and that they will share the benefits of resource developments throughout the province? Mr. Speaker, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. Speaker, and I thank the member for Ottawa Vannier for that question. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that Indigenous peoples share in the benefits of resource development. We are pleased with the progress to date on our dialogue with Indigenous partners on the whole issue of sharing the benefits of resource development. Speaker, the journey together, that was Ontario's commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and our historic political accord with the Chiefs of Ontario both include a commitment to work with Indigenous peoples on the shared priority of resource benefit sharing. Throughout the fall 2017, the ministries have had very productive and respectful discussions on resource revenue sharing. We look forward to continuing this dialogue to negotiate resource revenue sharing with forestry, stumpage, mining, tax, and royalties and related matters. The support that we've received from our Indigenous partners in resolving this issue stems from programs like our $650 million Aboriginal Guarantee Program, $30 million. Thank you. Supplementary. I want to thank the minister for his response and also for his leadership in leading our much needed reconciliation efforts throughout the province. It is my understanding that the ministry is conducting a pilot project of revenue sharing in the forestry sector. And as we know, the forestry sector is very important to Ontario. And I believe that resource revenue sharing is important in that sector, particularly because of their ongoing close relationships with Indigenous community and the locality. So I can the minister explain the status of this resource revenue sharing in the forestry sector. Thank you. Minister. Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. Mr. Natural Resources and Forestry. Member from Ottawa, Vanier, for the supplementary, my ministry conducted a successful forestry pilot in resource revenue sharing. As the minister of Indigenous relations strongly affirmed, Ontario believes the path to reconciliation is through strengthening relationships with Indigenous peoples. Building on the success of the forestry resource revenue sharing pilot, I can inform you that throughout this fall, both my ministry and the ministry of Northern Development and Minds have had protective and respectful discussions with First Nations and look forward to continuing discussions with our partners sharing in the mining and forestry resource sectors. I'm particularly pleased that Ontario is working with First Nations partners with a view to negotiate resource revenue sharing arrangements for forestry, stumpage, mining, tax and royalties. Our ministries continue efforts to enhance Indigenous voices within development opportunities specific to mining and forestry. A question to member from St. Paul Break. Mr. Speaker, my question to the Premier and I appreciate the Premier taking this question. Mr. Speaker, in June of this year, the House unanimously approved my private members' resolution asking for the immediate release of planning grants for the hospital redevelopments in Collingwood and Alliston. It's now been more than six months since my resolution was passed and nothing has happened. No approvals have been given by this government. So Mr. Speaker to the Premier, when will this government follow through and release the money to allow these critically important projects to move forward to the next stages of planning? Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I know the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care is going to want to speak to the specifics of this question, Mr. Speaker. But as I understand it, there is a conversation that's ongoing with the ministry about the go forward and the next steps, Mr. Speaker. And I look forward to us working with the communities to make sure that these plans can move forward for Mr. Speaker. But I know, as I said, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care will want to give the member the specifics. Thank you, supplementary. Well, thank you. And back to the Premier. And I appreciate it. I'd like to hear from the minister because this has been going on, you know, for quite a long time, a couple of years now, three years now, the House did pass. The Parliament has spoken six months ago. Both hospitals have spent well over a million and a half dollars of their own frontline healthcare money to do the planning so far. The minister's been good. The Linn's been good to encourage us to keep moving forward. But you haven't flown any money. And it could be up to $12 million each to get through the five planning stages of the hospital. It's going to take years. We understand that. And we'd like to get on with the work. So I look forward to the minister. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, have the long-term care. Mr. Speaker, have the long-term care. Well, thank you. And I appreciate the question. And so the ministry is working closely with the Linn as well as with the hospital involved. The member opposite has been a strong advocate for this hospital and others in and around his riding. The ministry is currently reviewing planning grants. We anticipate that a decision will be taken very soon. And I think we're all anxious to see some progress with regards to this hospital. And I would be happy to, if the member opposite wanted to meet with ministry officials to get a better sense of where things are at, I'd be happy to arrange that. Thank you. New question? The member from Nickel Belt. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Premier. The workers at the Sudbury Counseling Services have been on strike for a month now. Nine of the 13 counseling programs that they offer are unique. That is that they are only available at Sudbury Counseling Services. For example, people who need to attend a partner assault recovery program are at risk of breaching their bail condition and being sent to jail because they cannot attend the counseling sessions that the court had mandated them to attend. What is the Premier doing to help bring those workers back, to help bring those services back to my community? Good labor. Speaker, thank you very much to the Honorable Member for that very, very important question. Speaker, as I say when I rise in the House, when it comes to labor relations in the province of Ontario Speaker, we have a very good track record. Business, labor, nonprofit groups, funding organizations, Speaker, when they bring their best to the negotiating table, Speaker, settlements are reached in over 98% of those circumstances. Speaker, from time to time, that agreement has not reached as quickly as we like. As I say, Speaker, at the Minister of Labor, I think this province is blessed with some of the best mediators going through a conciliation process or a mediation process. But at the end of the day, Speaker, even though bargaining is tough, it's tough by nature, the best agreements are reached when both parties come to the table and bring their best. I would urge the sides in this to do exactly that, Speaker. That's right, thank you. Supplementary. Speaker, it's not only the partner assault program that is not going on. Right now, little kids who need to be prepared to go to court don't have the support that they need. People that have been charged with driving under the influence often have to attend the back-on-track counseling program that are only available at Sudbury Counseling Services. Speaker, in Nickel Belt, getting your driver's license back is a matter of great importance. We don't have public transit. People need to get their driver's license back. But yet, none of those programs are available to us. None of those programs have been available for the last month, and people are struggling. I'm asking the Premier, what is she going to do to make sure that people have access to those programs, that those councillors go back to work and that this labor dispute gets resolved? Thank you, Minister. Thank you, Speaker. And I appreciate the concern from the member opposite, Speaker. I think any one of us understands how much our constituents rely on the type of services that she is outlining. The process is governed under a labor relations regime in the province that works, as I said, the vast majority of the time. I understand there are circumstances from time to time where the parties can't come to agreement as quickly as they should. As much as we respect the collective bargaining process, Speaker, we try to assist that process. We try to make sure that if there's a way of bringing the sides together, the mediators will do that, Speaker. They will urge them back to the table, Speaker. They will guide them back to the table in some circumstances. Given the importance of these services, Speaker, to the people of Sudbury, the surrounding area, I would urge both sides to come back to the table, get the sorted out, and continue on serving the people of Sudbury, Speaker. No question, the member from Barry. Thank you, Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Transportation. Ontario has never been more of a leader in cutting-edge technology than we are today. One sector where we especially stand out is AVs or autonomous vehicles. In January 2016, Ontario paved the way by becoming the first jurisdiction in Canada to have a pilot through which entities can test AVs on public roads. This pilot has proven to be a real success. There are now seven different entities from universities to leaders in the automotive sector that are participating in this pilot. But our government refused to be complacent. We know that to continue to lead, we must continue to innovate. Speaker, I'm aware that last week, the Premier made an important announcement about our next step to advance AV technology in our province. Would the Minister please provide the members of this House with more information on that announcement? Thank you, Minister of Transportation. Thanks very much, Speaker. I thank the member from Barry for her question and for her advocacy on behalf of her community. Speaker, in our 2017 budget, we committed a historic $80 million over five years towards an autonomous vehicle innovation network. As part of this investment, Stratford, Ontario will become home to a new demonstration zone where small and medium-sized companies can go to test these technologies in live scenarios and various weather conditions. Stratford has shown exceptional leadership in this sector to date, and I know that they will help keep Ontario at the cutting edge as this technology develops. I've seen firsthand what others in this field already think of our province in this regard. Just this summer, our government signed an MOU with the State of Michigan to help foster innovation between our respective jurisdictions. Michigan was eager to partner with us because they know that we're paving the way, Speaker. And investments like the one we're talking about today will continue to show not just Michigan, but the world that Ontario is the place to be for AV innovation. Thank you. Supplementary. Thank you, Speaker, and I want to thank the Minister for this answer. From his answer, it is clear that Ontario will continue to be a strong leader in this emerging field, and it's great to see communities like Stratford leading the way. Speaker, I know that something everyone in this House can agree on is that Ontario's strongest asset is our people and our workforce. Some of the brightest and most innovative people in the world decide to make Ontario home. That is why I know that we need to continue to invest in our talent, especially in emerging fields like the AV technology. Speaker, would the Minister please provide more information on how this investment will be used to advance this sector in our province, and if any of this investment will go directly towards fostering talent in this field? Thank you, Minister. Thanks, Speaker, and I thank the member for her follow-up question. The member will be pleased to know that part of the $80 million investment I referenced the second ago will go directly towards developing the next generation of leaders in this sector through the talent development program. Specifically, this program will support student and recent graduate internships and fellowships with Ontario companies and areas that will advance autonomous and connected vehicle technology. This investment will also permit us to move forward with a research and development partnership fund to help foster collaboration between key players in this field. Additionally, we'll be creating an online central hub that will help the industry grow by acting as a single point of access for information sharing and connection building. Thank you, Speaker, myself, along with the Minister of Research, Innovation and Science and the Minister of Economic Development and Growth and our respective ministries are partnering and working hard to make sure that Ontario continues to lead in this very important sector, and that's the work that we're focused on, Speaker, and I thank the member from Barrie for her important question on this topic. Thank you very much. Thank you for your question, the member from special intelligence. Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Infrastructure. I was concerned to read in Bill 177 that you will repeal the legislative requirement of Infrastructure Ontario to include an audited financial statement in its annual report. We already know that the Auditor General has said that the government is going against public sector accounting standards, but now the government doesn't want Infrastructure Ontario to be audited at all. What's the Minister trying to hide? Minister of Infrastructure. I'd like some further qualification in the question, in the supplementary. As far as I'm aware, Infrastructure Ontario was following proper accounting principles with respect to reporting and auditing, and that's my answer to the question. Thank you, supplementary. You know it is your bill, 177. It removes the fact that Infrastructure Ontario needs to have audited financial statements. Is the Minister attempting to hide the details of an organization that is in charge of multi-billion dollars? Is it another example of where the Minister thinks that the AG believes the government finances are just too complicated to understand? Why does this government continue to try to conceal from the public how it is spending billions of taxpayer dollars? Christina, please. Thank you. President Treasury Board. The conclusion may be that various entities are consolidated onto the books of other entities. So, certainly, Infrastructure Ontario, under no circumstance, would go without having its transactions audited, whether they show as a separate entity, or whether they're consolidated onto the Ministry of Infrastructure's books. They are absolutely required to have their books audited, their transactions audited, that may be incorporated into the Ministry's books, but it would certainly be under the direction of the provincial controller, and the Auditor General would maintain her oversight over that particular entity. Thank you. Thank you. A member from London, Fanshawn, a point of order. Speaker, I'd like to thank all the nurse practitioners that are here today, and especially the ones I met with this morning. I'd like to thank Nancy Bradley, Susan Tobin, and Krista Cameron, and Aldelia Devine for meeting with us and talking about the importance of nurse practitioners in this process. A member from Nicol Belch, a point of order. I wanted to say a huge thank you to Jennifer Clement, the director of the very first Nurse Practitioner-led clinic in Sudbury for coming to Queen's Park today. Thank you, Mr. Glamour. Speaker, I wasn't sure if they were going to make it, but the great fives from Joshua Creek School did make it the question period, Speaker. I'd like to welcome them. Absolutely. And if we're going to be thanking nurse practitioners, I have to thank our daughter, Julie, who's been a nurse practitioner for a year, and if I didn't get up and say that, she wouldn't talk to me anymore. Far be it from me to resist. The minister of truers and culture in Spartan. Thank you, Speaker. Today's page captain is from my writing of Burlington, Sean Reynolds, Speaker. So congratulations, Sean. And I'd like to welcome to Queen's Park today his dad, Stephen Reynolds, his mom, Karen Minow, his grandfather, Ron Minow, and his grandma, Irene Minow. Welcome to Queen's Park. I beg to inform the house that pursuant to standing order 71C, the chief whip of the third party, the member from Tomiskimi Cochrane has filed with the clerk a reasoned amendment to the motion of the second reading of Bill 177, an act to implement budget measures and to enact and amend various statutes. The order of second reading of Bill 177 may therefore not be called to date. We have a deferred vote of the notice, government notice of motion number 39, relating to allocation of time on Bill 148, an act to amend Employment Standards Act 2000, and the Labor Relations Act 1995, and to make related amendments and other acts. Calling the members, this will be a five minute bell. All members, please take your seats. On November 15th, 2017, Ms. Jazak moved government notice of motion number 39, relating to allocation of time on Bill 148, an act to amend the Employment Standards Act 2000, and the Labor Relations Act 1995, and to make related amendments to other acts. All those in favor of the motion, please rise and want to time be recognized by the court. Mr. Nacken. Mr. Bradley, Mr. Dahluka. Mrs. Sandal. Mr. Sousa. Mr. Sousa, Mrs. Matthews. Mr. Hoskes. Mr. Sherelli. Mr. Shirelli. Mr. Duga. Mr. Duga. Ms. McCharles. Mr. Tkar. Mr. Tkar. Mr. Cole. Mr. Cole. Mr. Bardnetti. Mr. Bardnetti. Mr. Dillany. Mr. Dillon. Mr. Dilla. Mr. Chan. Mr. Chan. Mr. Merid. Mr. Morini. Mr. Cotto. Mr. Cotto. Ms. Hunter. Mr. Crack. Ms. Daumarill. Ms. McGarry. Mr. Morrill. Ms. Jess. Ms. Jass. Mr. Zimmer. Ms. Albinaz. Ms. Albinaz. Ms. McMahon. Ms. McMahon. Ms. Nidoo Harris. Ms. Nidoo Harris. Mr. Milch. Mr. Milch. Ms. Wong. Ms. Wong. Mr. Frazier. Mr. Frazier. Mr. Anders. Mr. Anders. Mr. Baker. Mr. Baker. Mr. Don. Mr. Don. Mr. Hogarth. Mr. Hogarth. Mr. Hogue. Mr. Hogue. Ms. Forster. Ms. Campbell. Ms. Campbell. Ms. Chamonta. Ms. Chamonta. Ms. Gretzky. Ms. Gretzky. Mr. Gates. Mr. Gates. Ms. French. Ms. French. Mr. McLaren. Mr. McLaren. The ayes are 49. The nays are 38. The ayes being 49. The nays being 38. I declare the motion carried. There are no further deferred votes. This House stands recess until 1 p.m. this afternoon.